Amazon is opening a beauty salon in London

By: Lisa F.

Amazon is opening a hair salon in London – its latest odd lurch into new businesses as the pandemic continues to fuel the e-commerce giant’s torrid growth.

The Amazon Salon, unveiled in a blog post, will occupy a two-story, 1,500-square-foot space in Spitalfields, a trendy neighborhood in East London that is also home to Amazon’s UK headquarters, which houses about 5,000 employees.

Indeed, the new salon, which will be open seven days a week, initially will only cater to Amazon workers. Members of the public will be able to make bookings in “the coming weeks” by calling, emailing or visiting the salon, the company says.

“This will be an experiential venue where we showcase new products and technology,” Amazon said in a blog post, adding that there are no plans to open other salons.

That will include making Amazon’s Fire tablets available at each station, allowing customers to use augmented reality technology to see what they look like as a platinum blonde, brunette or with highlights, the company said.

The salon will also test new “point-and-learn” technology, where customers can point at a product they are interested in on a display shelf and the relevant information, including brand videos and educational content, will appear on a display screen.

“We have designed this salon for customers to come and experience some of the best technology, hair care products and stylists in the industry,” Amazon’s UK Country manager, John Boumphrey, said in a statement. “We want this unique venue to bring us one step closer to customers, and it will be a place where we can collaborate with the industry and test new technologies.”

Amazon tapped Elena Lavagni of Neville Hair & Beauty Salon — a 20-year veteran of the London beauty scene who has provided hair services for Paris Fashion Week and the Cannes Film Festival — to oversee the beauty services at the new salon.

It’ll open to the general public in the coming weeks – and arrives on the heels of Amazon Professional Beauty, a store aimed at stylists in the UK.

Amazon’s is stepping up its augmented reality chops with this salon, said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who sees the initiative as an opportunity for Amazon to showcase its technology.

“Tech giants Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google are all battling for consumer mind share on their AR/VR visions,” Ives added.